‘Of course I want to play more’: Former Birmingham City midfielder hints at January exit from NEC Nijmegen

‘Of course I want to play more’: Former Birmingham City midfielder hints at January exit from NEC Nijmegen Former Birmingham City midfielder Willum Willumsson took advantage of a rare appearance for NEC Nijmegen at the weekend. The 27-year-old got his first goal for the club since joining from Birmingham City back in February, helping NEC to draw 2-2 against high flying Fortuna Sittard. For Willumsson, he has had to settle for coming off the bench with very few minutes for the club. This was only his 14th appearance for NEC since returning to the Eredivisie from England. Speaking to the media after the game, the former Birmingham City man said ‘ I had only been on for five minutes. We still believed in it, until the end. In the second half, we were constantly in possession and attacked a lot, while they parked the bus. It is always difficult to play against teams like that, but we also made it hard on ourselves by giving away two goals easily ‘. It is clear that Willumsson had been hoping to feature a lot more for NEC since making the move from Birmingham City. As a result, the 27-year-old looks to be eyeing up a move away from the club in January. He was very open about this with the media after the game, saying ‘ As a footballer, you always want to play, that’s not so strange. That is why I am not satisfied. I think NEC is a great club with great people and a nice group of players, so it is not like I am walking around here utterly miserable. But of course I want to play more, so I am also looking around for other solutions. I am focusing on NEC now and we will see what happens in January. I cannot say yet what my future looks like ‘. During his time in English football, Willumsson played 60 games for Birmingham City, scoring seven goals. He only spent a season and a half with the club, with his best campaign being the one that saw Birmingham City promoted from League One. During that season he scored seen goals and provided nine assists. His time in the Championship was more difficult, with just 12 appearances and one assist. Prior to joining Birmingham City, Willumsson had played in Iceland and in Belarus with BATE Borisov. In 2022 he left BATE to join Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie. Willumsson was a great success there, scoring 15 goals and providing six assists in 62 games. Clearly there will be other Eredivisie clubs interested in signing the Icelandic midfielder, and perhaps a return to England could be on the cards after his impressive first season with Birmingham City. GBeNeFN  |  Ben Jackson